Article assorting device



Aug. 23, 1955 Filed Dec. 28, 1951 I5 SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR. A55 75/? /7. M55 s/A/Gm ATTORNEYS 1955 L. H. MESSINGER 2,715,962

ARTICLE ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 28, 1951 3 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR.

L575? hf MESS/N6 5/? 32 W /5\ m w H. (7% 6 g M ATTORNE Aug. 23, 1955 H. MESSLNGER 2,715,962

ARTICLE ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 28, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. A is 75/? hi M555 01/00? ATTORNEYS ARTICLE ASSQRTKNG DEVICE Lester H. Messinger, Trumbull, (101111., assignor to Remington Arms Company, Inc Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application Becember 28, 1951, Serial No. 263,359

17 Claims. (Cl. 299-72) This invention relates to the assembly of composite articles comprising a combustible or explosive constituent which is liable to accidental ignition in the assembly process, and contemplates means actuated by the com bustion of the explosive constituent for rejecting the article which is thus rendered defective without interruption of the process of assembly and acceptance of proper articles.

More specifically, the invention relates to apparatus for the placement and seating of primers in cartridge cases and empty shot shells, and contemplates an arrangement whereby, in the event that a primer is accidentally ignited in the process of assembly, the case or shell containing the burned-out primer is rejected without interruption to the orderly flow of other cases or shells through the machine.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary diagrammatic development, partly in section, of a portion of the dial and associated tools of a typical shot shell priming press having applied thereto a typical embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the dial of the press diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing a modification of the invention applied to a somewhat different form of dial press.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

The invention has been illustrated as applied to a press for the placement and seating of assembled battery cups in shot shells, which press comprises an intermittently moving dial, but it will be understood that the invention is equally applicable to straight line presses, to the priming of metallic cartridges cases, and to machines in which the work is moving continuously rather than intermittently. The shell 5 as fed to the machine comprises a body B usually of convolutely wound paper, to which is secured a metallic head H, the assembly of body and head containing a tightly fitting base wad W. The head and base wad are apertured to receive a primer assembly having as its essential constituents a metallic cup containing a composition adapted to be ignited by percussion. The primer assembly usually contains an anvil affording a support for the priming composition when the head of the primer cup is struck a firing blow, and the assembly of anvil and priming composition in the primer cup may be contained in an exterior battery cup. For convenience in this specification, any such primer assembly will be referred to as a primer, identified in Fig. 1 as P. The machine in which primer P is placed and seated in the head aperture of a shell may perform other functions but, for simplicity, only that part having to do with priming will be described.

The machine comprises a dial 10 and means for inter- 2,7155%2 Patented Aug. 23, 1955 ice mittently advancing the dial, such as teeth 11 on the dial periphery adapted for engagement by a pawl 12 reciprocated by suitable means, not shown. Projecting upwardly and outwardly from the face of dial 10 are a series of workpiece carrying pins 13 spaced from each other by an amount equal to the successive steps of movement of the dial as determined by the spacing of the teeth 11. Each pin 13 is secured to and extends through the dial 10 and each comprises an aperture 14 extending throughout its length. Dial 10 is supported by, but, through the greater part of its space area, spaced from a support plate 15, and, for a purpose to be hereinafter described, there is placed between the adjacent faces of support 15 and dial 10 a segmental plate 16, which serves to close the bottom of each aperture of passage 14 in certain positions of the pins 13. Each pin 13 is adapted to receive and support an empty shot shell 5 which may be delivered thereto from a feed tube 17 associated with a source of supply not shown. Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically the progress of the work through the machine. As the dial is indexed, each of the pins 13 in turn comes into alignment with one of a series of tools carried by a reciprocating gate, a portion of which is shown at 18 (Fig. 3). The typical sequence illustrated is as follows:

At Station 1 the workpiece is received on a pin 13 as above described. At Station 2 the workpiece is inspected by a punch 19 to determine the presence in the head and base wad of an opening adapted to receive the primer. At Station 3 the workpiece is seated on the pin 13 in position to receive a primer by a suitable tool 20. At Station 4 the primer P is placed in alignment with the shell head aperture, and is inserted part way into the aperture by a punch 21. At Station 5 the primer is finally seated in the shell by an appropriate seating tool identified generally by numeral 22. At Station 6 is an inspection punch 23 which, in the absence of a primer, sets certain devices to be hereinafter described to prepare for the subsequent rejection of unprimed shells. At Station 7 shells containing live primers are removed from the dial. This is accomplished by means of a tubular member 24 which reciprocates with the gate and is provided at its lower end with a head 242 housing a gripping device adapted to engage the head portion of a shell on a pin 13 and withdraw the shell upward until it clears the pin. The particular gripping device illustrated comprises three segmental members 25 held in assembled relation by a garter spring 26 and defining an aperture so formed as to admit upward passage of a shell head H but to prevent downward passage thereof by engagement with the shell head rim.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will he noted that a collar 241 secured to the tubular member 24 overlies the member 18 which reciprocates with the press gate, and is connected tlrerethrough by a spring 27, whereby the gate may complete its downward or advancing movement without the tubular member 24 in the event that the downward movement of said tubular member is obstructed. This enables a defective shell to pass the pickoif Station 7 without being removed from the pin 13 in the manner and for the purpose hereinafter explained. At Station 8 is a second pickofl device substantially similar to the one located at Station 7, which is for the purpose of removing any (defective) shells which pass Station 7.

It will be remembered that at Stations 4 and 5 a live primer is presented to and seated in an opening in the shell head. The tools by which this is done necessarily engage the head of the primer cup in the region in which deformation of the primer cup will press the priming composition therein against the anvil and may cause the ignition of the priming composition. The occasional firing of a primer at Station 4 or Station 5 is inevitable, and

shells containing blown or burned-out primers are, of course, useless. The present invention contemplates utilizing the pressure of the gases generated by primer combustion to set certain devices which prevent the removal of a defective shell at Station 7 while enabling its removal at the reject Station 8. To this end, the passage 14 through each worloholding pin 13 communicates with a transversely disposed passage 39 in a mounting block 33 secured to dial 19, there being one such mounting block associated with each pin 13. Each passage contains a piston 32 (Fig. 3) comprising a head 33 adapted to engage and displace the lower end of a lever 34 pivoted at 35 in an upstanding portion 316 of each mounting block 31. A yieldable detent device contained in each mounting block and indicated at 36 serves to hold the associated lever 34 in the position to which it is moved by external means, one such moving means being the piston 32. Each lever 34 extends upwardly to a normal position which is radially adjacent but out of the path of movement of the associated pickofi head 242, and is above the lowermost position to which such pickofi head is normally moved in the downward movement of the gate. Each passage 14 is in communication and alignment with the inner and open or apertured end of a primer. The aforementioned segmental plate 16 is so disposed that at Stations 4 and 5, at which the primer is being inserted and seated, said plate closes the lower end of the passage 14. Thus, if a primer is ignited at either Station 4 or Station 5, the gas pressure generated by its combustion is transmitted through passages 14 and 30 to piston 32, effecting the outward displacement of this piston and the movement of the associated lever 34 from the full line position (Fig. 3) to the dotted line position. In the latter position, the upper end of a lever 34 is in the path of the downward movement of the pickolf head 242 and serves to stop such downward movement before the picltoft' device has reached the shell, the spring 27 being tensioned as the gate element 13 completes its downward movement. Any shell with a blown primer thus remains on its pin 13 as this pin passes Station 7, to be subsequently removed at Station 8.

Means are provided at Station 6 for setting the levers 34 to prevent the piclcoff of a shell at Station 7 in the event the shell does not contain a primer. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the punch 23 at Station 6 comprises a collar 231 which overlies an apertured lever 40 pivoted to the machine frame at 42. Said lever is urged counterclockwise (Fig. 4) by suitable means such as a spring 43 and is provided with a cam nose 44 adapted when the free end of the lever is displaced downwardly to engage the upper end of a lever 34, displacing such lever to the same pic ofi' obstructing position to which it is displaced by the explosion of a primer at Station 4 or Station 5. Punch 23 is provided with a spring mounting as indicated at 232. it will be apparent that if a shell at Station 6 contains a primer, the downward motion of punch 23 is obstructed, its spring 232 yieldins as the gate descends. However, if the shell does not contain a primer, the punch enters the primer aperture, and, in the downward movement thus enabled, the collar 231 engages and displaces lever 4% setting a lever 34 to prevent the pickoff of the shell at Station 7. Lever 49 is restored to normal position as the punch 2?: rises by its spring 43.

Means are provided for restoring any displaced lever 34 to normal position immediately after such lever passes the pickoif at Station 7. This means may comprise a fixed cam 45 (Fig. 2) having a cam face 46 so placed and inclined as to engage the lower end of any displaced lever 34 as such lever is advanced beyond Station 7, thereby restoring any displaced lever to normal position.

Fig. 5 shows the adaptation of the invention to a press in which, for the performance of operations other than priming, the dial is of considerable depth and each shell is held within a die represented at 50. As completely disclosed in such prior patents as Place, No. 605,340, June 7, 1898, each shell is impaled on a floating longitudinally apertured pin 51, the lower end of such pin traversing the fixed supporting member 52. Lower ends of pins 51 traverse the surface of a fixed support member or plate 52, and at the primer seating station support 52 is provided with an aperture 53 for communication with the passage through pin 51. Said aperture 53 communicates with a passage 54, which contains a piston 55. For pickofi", each pin 51 is lifted by traversing a ramp associated with plate 52, to bring the head of the shell thereon into such a vertical position that it can be engaged by pickofi head 242. The present invention contemplates a ramp construction which is displaceable toward the plane of the top of plate 52 by movement of the piston 55, so that shells with blown primers pass the first pickoff station and are removed at a second pickofi station in the manner above described. The displaceable ramp construction may be as follows:

The ramp member 56 is pivoted at 57 in a slot in plate 52, said slot being defined by sidewalls 58 and 59. Pivoted to ramp 56 at 60 is a hook-shaped ramp restoring member comprising side arms 61 and a generally upwardly extending head 62. The ramp restoring member is likewise pivoted at 63 to a plunger 64 slidably mounted in an aperture in the plate 62 and thrust forwardly therein by spring 65. As clearly shown in Fig. 5, the assembly of the ramp, ramp restoring member, and plunger constitutes a toggle which, due to the action of spring 65, will remain either in the full line uppermost position or the dotted line ineffective position until displaced therefrom to cause the pivot 60 to pass a line joining the pivots 57 and 63. Downward displacement of the ramp is effected through its engagement by piston 55 when said piston is moved by gas pressure generated by the combustion of a primer at the primer seating station. The normally upwardly inclined ramp surface is thus brought into the dotted line (Fig. 5) position, and the shell with the blown primer passes the pickoff head 242 without being lifted into the path of movement of said pickoif head. In the next succeeding indexing movement of the shell carrying dial, the pin 51 carrying the blown primer shell engages the face 621 of the ramp restoring member, thrusting it laterally and downwardly to restore the toggle to its uppermost position. The pin 51 and the shell thereon are thereafter lifted through the engagement of the lower end of the pin with a fixed ramp 66.

Means are provided for preventing downward movement of the toggle by the pressure of the pickoff head 242 applied thereto through the shell and its supporting pin when an acceptable shell is picked off. This means may be constructed as follows:

Ramp 56 is provided with an elongated slot 67, which receives a fixed pin 68 extending transversely of the slot 5859. Upon said pin 68 and at each side of ramp 56 is pivoted a support block 69, the two support blocks being identical and each comprising a normally horizontally disposed surface substantially flush with the horizontally disposed surface 561 of ramp 56. The fixed pin 68 which carries the support blocks is aligned with the axis of the shell carrying pin 51 which is in pickofi positionthus, the downward thrust of the pickolf head is transmitted through the support blocks to pin 63. The ramp assembly being in its lowermost position, support blocks 69 are rocked about pivot 68 by their engagement with shell carrying pin 51, and, as the ramp assembly returns to normal position, said support blocks are restored to normal position by the engagement of their forward margins with portions of arm 61 adjacent the pivot 60.

It will be obvious that the invention is susceptible to embodiment in many other forms, all falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for the continuous assembly of a sequence of similar articles each comprising a percussion sensitive element, said apparatus comprising an article conveying device having a predetermined movement, means activated by the combustion of a percussion sensitive element in process of assembly, and means controlled by said first named means for eflecting the segregation of assemblies comprising burned-out percussion sensitive elements while said conveying means performs its predetermined movement.

2. Apparatus for the priming of ammunition cases comprising means for supporting tools at a plurality of stations including a primer seating station, means for conveying cases through said stations, and settable means adapted to be displaced to a set position by the combustion of a primer at said primer seating station, and means controlled by said settable means for elfecting the subsequent segregation of cases having burned-out primers.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, comprising means for restoring said set means to normal position.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, comprising case supports on said conveying means, said supports having therein passages adapted to receive the products of combustion of a primer being seated in a case on one of said supports.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising actuators for said settable means, and passages for applying said products of combustion to said actuators.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, comprising means for removing cases from said conveying means, said case removing means being rendered inefiective by displacement of said settable means.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, comprising auxiliary case removing means not controlled by said settable means.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6, in which said case removing means comprises a reciprocating member having a yieldable connection to a driver and said settable means when in set position is in the path of movement of said reciprocating member.

9. Apparatus according to claim 6, comprising a primer inserting station, said settable means being adapted to be displaced to set position by the combustion of a primer at said primer inserting station.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, comprising an inspection station provided with an element for determining the presence of a primer, and devices actuated by said element for setting said settable means if no primer is present.

11. The combination with a machine for the priming of ammunition cases comprising a plurality of operating stations including a primer seating station, means for conveying cases to and away from said operating stations, case supports on said conveying means, and means for removing primed cases from said conveyor; of means for preventing the removal of a primed case from said conveying means by said removing means, said preventing means comprising a ramp normally efiective to guide said shell into operative relation to said removing means, and means actuated by the products of combustion of a primer at said primer seating station for displacing said ramp to an ineffective position.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, comprising a fixed pivot for said ramp, and a ramp restoring device pivoted on said ramp.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, in which said ramp restoring device is pivotally jointed to a spring-urged plunger held for rectilinear movement in a fixed element.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, in which said ramp, ramp restoring device, and plunger constitute a toggle adapted for displacement across the center line formed by the ramp pivot and the pivot on the plunger.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14, in which said ramp being in ineffective position, said ramp restoring device in positioned for engagement and actuation by a case support.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15, comprising support blocks associated with said ramp assembly and adapted to prevent displacement of said toggle from normal position by receiving the thrust of said case removing means.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, in which said support blocks are laterally adjacent said ramp and are pivoted on a fixed pin received in an elongated slot in said ramp.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,300,361 Reynolds Oct. 27, 1942 2,393,246 Hallowell, Jr Jan. 22, 1946 2,430,080 Reynolds Nov. 4, 1947 2,506,144 Fischer May 2, 1950 

